{{Short description|Historical diplomatic position}} {{italics}} An '''''apocrisiarius''''', the Latinized form of '''''apokrisiarios''''' ({{langx|el|{{lang|grc|ἀποκρισιάριος}}}}), sometimes Anglicized as '''apocrisiary''', was a high diplomatic representative during Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. The corresponding (purist) Latin term was '''''responsalis''''' ("he who answers").<ref name="ODB">{{harvnb|Kazhdan|1991|p=136}}.</ref> The title was used by Byzantine ambassadors, as well as by the representatives of bishops to the secular authorities.<ref>{{harvnb|Kazhdan|1991|pp=75, 136}}; {{harvnb|Parry|Hinnells|1999|p=35}}.</ref> The closest modern equivalent is a papal nuncio; the title ''apocrisiarius'' is also still employed by the Anglican Church.
==Byzantine ''apocrisiarii''== An ''apocrisiarius'' was a cleric who served as the representative (also described as legate, a less precise term) of a patriarch or other bishop to the Byzantine imperial court of Constantinople. The office existed since the 5th century, but was institutionalized by law only under Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565). Several of the more important ecclesiastical sees maintained permanent ''apocrisiarii'' in the imperial capital.<ref name="ODB"/> The most important of these were the papal ''apocrisiarii'' (circa 452 till 743). The title was also used for the representative of a metropolitan archbishop at the court of his "territorial" patriarch in either Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, or Jerusalem and for secular officials carrying correspondence of the Byzantine emperor.<ref>{{harvnb|Parry|Hinnells|1999|p=35}}.</ref>
==Frankish ''apocrisiarii''== From the reign of Charlemagne (r. 768–814), the court of the Frankish king/emperor had clerical members styled ''apocrisiarii''. However, they were only royal archchaplains decorated with the title of the ancient papal envoys, since they did not perform any diplomatic duties.{{Cn|date=July 2021}}
==Anglican Church== In the modern Anglican Communion, representatives of the Archbishop of Canterbury to various churches are styled '''''apocrisiarioi'''''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Diocese in Europe |title=Partners - Apocrisiaroi |url=http://www.europe.anglican.org/partners/partners_apocrisiarioi.htm |publisher=Diocese in Europe |date=20 May 2011 |access-date=10 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206045108/http://www.europe.anglican.org/partners/partners_apocrisiarioi.htm |archive-date=6 February 2012 }}</ref>
==References==
===Citations=== {{reflist|2}}
===Sources=== {{refbegin|2}} *{{cite book|editor-last=Kazhdan|editor-first=Alexander Petrovich|editor-link=Alexander Kazhdan|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium|location=New York, New York and Oxford, United Kingdom|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1991|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3u5RAAACAAJ|isbn=978-0-19-504652-6}} *{{cite book|last1=Parry|first1=Ken|last2=Hinnells|first2=John R.|title=The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity|location=Malden, Massachusetts|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|year=1999|isbn=0-631-18966-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WSe1QgAACAAJ}} {{refend|2}}
==Further reading== {{refbegin}} *{{cite book|last=Ekonomou|first=Andrew J.|year=2007|title=Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes: Eastern Influences on Rome and the Papacy from Gregory the Great to Zacharias, A.D. 590-752|location=Lanham, Maryland and Plymouth, UK|publisher=Lexington Books (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.)|isbn=978-0-7391-1978-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DWH3CDxSqpgC}} *{{cite book|last1=Larousse|first1=Pierre|last2=Augé|first2=Claude|title=Petit Larousse Illustré: Nouveau Dictionnaire Encyclopédique|location=Paris, France|publisher=Librairie Larousse|year=1906|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRMiAQAAIAAJ}} {{refend}}
==External links== *[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01600a.htm Catholic Encyclopaedia - Apocrisiarius]
Category:Diplomats by role * Category:Ecclesiastical titles Category:Foreign relations of the Byzantine Empire Category:Christian terminology